UMich Symphony Band - Gustav Holst - Second Suite in F, op. 28b (1911, orig. instrumentation)

University of Michigan Symphony Band
Second Suite in F, op. 28b (1911, with original 1911 instrumentation)
Gustav Holst
1. March 00:00
2. Song without Words 05:12
3. Song of a Blacksmith 07:54
4. Fantasia on the "Dargason" 09:20
Michael Haithcock, conductor
February 8, 2019
Hill Auditorium
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
recorded and filmed by
Dave Schall and Cory Robinson
(www.daveschallacoustic.com)

[@joshpark.sax875]

The euphoniumist absolutely killed it. Beautiful tone

[@ZeusMcKraken]

Josh Park #EuphoniumLife

[@HelloWorld-fg2nm]

seriously holy fuck

[@eddietucker7005]

I didn’t have an issue with his playing. It was that the high winds were not backing off and was overpowering him. They weren’t using the pyramid of sound dynamics and that impeded the quality of the performance.

[@WestCoastDP]

@@eddietucker7005 Yea, the band is suppose to be P. The bass trombone was too loud. Blah, Blah, Blah. I was playing tuba next to a B. trombone on this piece and had to gently kick him to lower his volume. The 2nd time he did play softer as this guy did.

[@mboyd92]

Nothing quite like that beautiful middle brass

[@a_rocknrolladdict.0312]

The performance is fantastic I respect the director for utilizing Holst’s original, smaller instrumentation, but as a band geek myself, for the life of me, I cannot un-hear the crying child at the very start of movement I

[@clarkcothern777]

Every parent everywhere cringes when that happens because they've probably been there. This happens once in a great while at our church too. We just laugh and remind each other (and the parents) how much we love kids. Of course, we're not there to have a concert where there should probably be some etiquette practiced for the sake of other listeners. ;-)

[@kilgoretrout4350]

Understandable at church… not at a concert…. Don’t bring kids that are not able to control themselves to a non-school public performance

[@brianscotpatterson2101]

Not many people know this: Holst wrote a crying child into the 1911 score.

[@rufinomedado3184]

@@kilgoretrout4350 I mean.... they're kids. You can't expect them to control themselves very much

[@carlorenzi1802]

@@brianscotpatterson2101 could you please link here a source? it’s hard to find something online..

[@Zildjian814]

The euph definitely knocked it out of the park, but so did the tuba

[@trentl795]

Paul Kenney I feel like the trumpet did great also

[@sgsmozart]

His tone was so beautiful !!🎊🎉🎊

[@maryanngilliam3951]

This was a really nice performance, however, I've never seen in the original score a crying baby solo, but that baby absolutely killed the solo! Wonderful job!

[@LamiksVideos1]

I'm over here studying and the kid is ruining it for me 😩

[@imapaine-diaz4451]

Poor kid probably never heard that mush sound all at once before. Just freaked him out!

[@Music-vv9fz]

The flip on the bassoon guy's hair ... 😃👍

[@mrcaldwell706]

My favorite piece of music ever.

[@screechowll102]

The clarinetist really did a great job in the second movement, great tone and expression!

[@braden444]

It’s supposed to be an oboe solo

[@blindmelonchitlin639]

The tubist knew how to use his third and fourth valves, and the second and fourth valve in combination properly. That is impressive enough in itself. Well done.

[@mikeprevost8650]

I noticed that the first trumpet was using her second and third valve combination for her 4th space Eb, too. Very common for a C trumpet to have intonation issues using second vale for that note.

[@zandergrier1302]

4:56 literally the best chord I've ever heard, it sounds like it was played by a program almost

[@victormainetti386]

It's the low brass

[@jeffgoblue]

The chord is great! Credit to the musicians and also credit to the amazing acoustics of Hill Auditorium.

[@dkronenberger]

Yes, thank the tubist.

[@taxicamel]

Well as much as I would love to agree with you ....but you MUST include 9:06 as well ....no tubist.

[@megellen5357]

I played Fantasia on the Dargason for a Marching Band show, so this entire piece brings back amazing memories.

[@dehydratedsweat9635]

The year before I got to my hs they apparently did a show with that in

[@dougllaslopes3527]

Wonderful!

[@peterjohnson5871]

Great work! Quality soloists and Haithcock’s superb interpretation come together to create something truly spellbinding.

[@moist_soup7215]

This band consistently impressed me with their performances. Very nice!

[@golferken55]

Fantastic ! Sounds as good as the Cleveland symphonic winds !!

[@richardmccurdy5481]

Wonderful performance of one of the greatest pieces ever written for band. Very moving.

[@mtattrain2]

I remember playing this in high school and listening to this during my brother's graduation at UMich. Very good compostion

[@burnamfleming3025]

I can recall being invited to play this piece!! Wondeful

[@extremedonut7602]

This is the best version I have found

[@Justadefaulticon]

aw i love the conductors facial expressions it made me smile

[@JhonatanCoelhoJSC]

Maravilhoso...que obra prima.

[@logang2391]

You just got to LOVE Holst. This and The Planets.

[@elikluds]

Thanks this helped a lot

[@hunterleebrown]

Wow nice! I haven't heard it with such small forces. Wonderful.

[@taxicamel]

If you are referring to 26 musicians ....agreed ....but they SHOULD all be at the top of their game at this point. GREAT SOUND!!

[@ssperst]

Probably one of the best recorings ever made of the Suite. Love it. Trombones rule (as always) and the solo trumet is just great,

[@andrewshipman2759]

i chocked the tuba part with my band on fantasia, fried the last note

[@katerinagiannopoulou5479]

the euphonium player wow

[@williamphillips6247]

Very nicely done-have a recording of the Dallas Wind Symphony with Howard Dunn conducting with this instrumentation-nice to here a live performance of it done this way, though!

[@katerinagiannopoulou5479]

the piccolo in the end OwO

[@JohnAckerman93]

I've played this piece twice, and it's just amazing. I especially love the first, third, and fourth movements. I played it on the clarinet

[@toxiboi5771]

You just don't like the second movment lol

[@simonewhite9848]

Great piece guys! I've liked a lot of comments here in the hope that the original listeners will come back and enjoy it again. Hoping to put a smile on y'alls' faces. Have a beautiful Sunday.

[@av4826]

Beautiful. Everyone playing this has heard Fennell. Great job.

[@av4826]

Love the original instrumentation... does that mean separate trumpet AND cornet parts and all that good stuff I remember seeing in the old charts!?!

[@johnmeissinger4]

Amazing work. Especially with a smaller ensemble. Especially for only having 3 trumpets!

[@haileywilson5893]

I love this suite. I happened to play this in my 8th grade year and we got a superior at MPA. I would so want to play this again. Y’all played it very good!

[@Musiciislifeeee]

Yeah I played this in 8th too, I’m a euphoniumist. And I loved playing this piece.

[@toxiboi5771]

8th grade is wild! You guys must've been really good. I wish I could play this piece let alone play it in 8th grade

[@barryguerrero7652]

Wonderful performance! Excellent hammer in the Blacksmith song - a tad brighter than usual. Also, the Blacksmith song wasn't taken at a ridiculously fast tempo (which makes total nonsense out of the melody). Good percussion that enhanced everything else. This is my absolutely favorite wind ensemble work of any.

[@malonehardcastle5640]

I purchased the Cleveland Symphonic Winds version of this on a Telarc Digital label back in the 80s. I have loved this piece ever since. I agree that so many performances of this do almost ruin "The Song of the Blacksmith" by playing it way to fast.

[@phthartic]

I heard a Japanese band play this using a tiny little concert anvil with like a glockenspiel mallet. Sounded wimpy for an anvil. This one was nice. In High School in the late 70s I used a brake drum since our band was too cheap to buy an anvil. Sounded ok if you hit it in the right place.

[@mikeprevost8650]

C trumpets have a brighter sound than Bb trumpets and cornets.

[@kilgoretrout4350]

Dang, tuba was great! Bombastic!

[@taxicamel]

YUP ....I wish I had that tuba. HUGE sound.

[@aidanbrunzell1693]

My middle school is performing this. Im excited.

[@taxicamel]

Very hard NOT to get excited listening to this performance.

[@balloon_zoo]

Euphの音色が素敵

[@rhynno2899]

The band was on sync and the tone was nice and the trumpets made it a lot better the music and performance were perfect I like the balance of the instruments the timbre was excellent and I rate it an a because the performance and the people who played were excellent.

[@chzr2778]

his starting queues are so elegant how do they even know when to start lol

[@taxicamel]

EVERYONE IS WATCHING, ...EYES ON THE CONDUCTOR. Notice that HE is actually conducting the musicians throughout. I don't know why the music stand was even there

[@adamlubliner2882]

Aside from the child crying, this is a great recording. I'm curious though, I heard some movements from Holst's Saint Paul's Suite. Is that what you (the person who posted this video) meant when you wrote "orig. instrumentation"?

[@mitchelljroth]

Adam Lubliner The last movement is common between Second Suite in F and St. Paul’s suite. Original instrumentation refers to the ensemble size and composition; the instrumentation of the ensemble in this video is accurate to the original instrumentation. Most of the time, this piece is performed by a larger band with different instrumentation.

[@kayleehilyer8478]

I believe the "Fantasia on the Dargason" was adapted from the St. Paul's Suite. The original instrumentation refers to the number of people that Holst envisioned on each part, and with some instruments not being written in, I think.

[@brianjungen4059]

Holst originally wrote this for a British Regimental Band and they are of smaller size than an average wind band.

[@myname-isvincent5683]

Even as a brass player myself, I feel like the percussion don't get very much attention

[@williammalcolmjones7612]

Excellent...Trumpets?

[@benparrish9456]

Such a bright, clear, and beautiful tone from Grace on trumpet! Very competent and impressive performance. Also loved the solid low brass. Bravo maestros!

[@eddietucker7005]

And there was a really nice looking page turner in between the 1st & 3rd trumpets. Why didn’t he play as much. I’ve played this so many times and I’ve never seen that part with so many tasets or rests. Curious.

[@mikeprevost8650]

I just wonder why the conductor decided to use C trumpets for this.

[@mikeprevost8650]

@@eddietucker7005 I mean, he's only playing what's in the score in front of him--blame the arranger, not him. And to be fair, although I've only played the 1st trumpet part, I have seen performances from bigger ensembles where the 2nd trumpets sat out the same passages.

[@jomarluke]

​@mikeprevost8650 I think it's more that those are the horns the students use for their studies. I'd prefer to see cornets and a British tuba, but here we are.

[@mikeprevost8650]

@@jomarluke I would guess that since most trumpet players start out on Bb trumpets, these advanced students have both. This is supposedly Holst's original instrumentation, but I would have imagined he'd have scored it for cornets, too.

[@dominikdanda7863]

Yes! 3rd valve high G is superior!

[@samanthamcmanus9414]

where is the bass clarinet ;-;

[@loganeley6507]

PLEASE post a link to the sheet music, as a euphonium player, I NEED IT

[@Blieu]

Matonizz has a video with the first solo

[@jonahlynne9123]

the audience clapped in between movements bruh

[@Billfartsalot]

rubes

[@taxicamel]

....no only the after the first movement.

[@wumboshorts]

Anyone from WCYO looking at this?

[@seb_the_rat]

12:29 ❤

[@BretNewtonComposer]

What edition are you performing from?

[@umsymphonyband]

They are using the Colin Matthews edition Boosey & Hawkes parts, but selected only the composer's original score instrumentation.

[@PepperJack291]

@@umsymphonyband Does that edition include C trumpet parts, or are the trumpet players transposing?

[@jdplaystuba]

Really nice until babies started to cry. Parents keep children at hime if they cry alot please concert educate.

[@commiedoggo37]

Do you mean etiquette? lmao

[@luce.3560]

seriously, it threw me off..jeez

[@lovingheart25]

00:23 2:57

[@martymoran8456]

The first chair trumpet, carries the whole performance

[@mikeprevost8650]

I'd rather listen to a smaller ensemble, with 1 strong player in each chair, than a larger one with 3 on each part, never getting the 16th notes exactly in unison.

[@gurutejs.khalsa3915]

He conducts without a score a la Toscanini

[@YourMom-rn6nz]

0:23 this is where it starts

[@CharlieBladeRemus]

The clapping between movements tho... YUCK!

[@xrchidWlfx]

RIGHT

[@taxicamel]

One movement only .....NOT movementS.

[@ShadowSpartan9x]

Was looking for this comment. Didn't disappoint!

[@josearv.4172]

1:09

[@derekiles3848]

This band has a sound that is on a par if not better than the Eastman Symphonic Wind Band conducted by the great Frederick Fennel.

[@jefflpanther]

Wonderful performance! Two cornets instead of trumpets would have been better and in keeping with the original instrumentation.

[@jacoblee3743]

euphonium killed the solo in 47 and his entrance in 136

[@saxophobe]

Stellar performance! One issue that I noticed that was somewhat disturbing is the size of the ensemble; being a huge Holst fan, I just watched the performance of Holst's First Suite in Eb by the UMich Symphony Band from 2 years ago. The size of the ensemble was HUGE! One stark contrast was the size of the sax section. 2017: 4 altos, 2 tenors, baritone and a bass. 2019: 1 alto, 1 tenor. I know that college enrollment is on the decline due to tuition repayment concerns, but this fact makes my heart hurt. #prayingformusiced

[@jameslong9024]

Hi Alan, as a Umich SMTD student I can attest that the symphony band is still large and well. It seems with this particular performance they used a reduced ensemble. Hope this helps and GO BLUE!

[@brianjungen4059]

if you check out the notes up top, it says "original instrumentation" and I believe Holst wrote this originally for a much smaller wind band. Trust me, U Mich is not hurting for music students.

[@BruinPhD2009]

Holst wrote both suites for size of British regimental bands at the time, approximately 28-30 musicians. From a purely musical standpoint, I prefer performances with smaller forces because you get what a master of orchestration and color he was. At the same time, these pieces are so important to the history of wind music that I want as many people to experience playing them as possible. I hope to see/hear many more performances of these works in the future. And yes, of all places, Michigan is not hurting for students.

[@taxicamel]

Well, I was not "disturbed" at all. I WAS more impressed with the full sound from 26 musicians.

[@lionelpaz2682]

Bone next to euph soloist likes to puff his cheeks.

[@robertperez2262]

So does Mr Bassoon bro

[@brianjungen4059]

So?

[@samuelsong3115]

He’s a bass bone player requires air my friend

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Very common amongst advanced players for many years now. Where have you been?

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

Cornet parts should be played on cornet.

[@mike58greenberg]

This piece was a huge part of my childhood and teen years. The melodies are forever. It makes me sad that people in the west have become so stupid.

[@adelineinactivity]

Conducted by the one and only Bernie Sanders

[@kilgoretrout4350]

Euphonium dragging on first solo, trombones picked up and overcompensated… but they are so good both caught on quickly and adjusted…. Almost imperceptible

[@mikeprevost8650]

I thought that the clarinet dragged a bit on the Song Without Words, too. And then rushed the first measure of the Fantasia.

[@Koruii]

he crying baby lolz

[@disneymatt01]

Bassoon on the right counts with her head. 😑

[@mikeprevost8650]

The principal flute in my city's philharmonic does, too. So what? She's a professional, these were university students.

[@michaelcuthbert4335]

1st movt. HATE the C trumpet over-balance-FAR too bright and dominant in sound. Baritone over-sold the solo both times 2nd movt.-too rubato and slow for my taste. Again, mellowness of the Bb cornet is missing. The atmosphere of this movt. Lacked mood. 3rd- again, C trumpet inappropriate-anvil sounded like an alto triangle!! It may be the small wind ensemble choice, but the whole texture of the suite is thin and transparent, exposed most egregiously by the entrance of the trumpets in the 4th movt. Shrill and intrusive rather than rich and melllow.

[@lilkorea27]

I played this in 9th grade, does that make me smarter than U of M Symphony band? The trombone at 1:33 should not be puffing his cheeks. bad form

[@CalebMartinPercussion]

I hate when people say this. Go watch the recording of the New York Philharmonic playing "Fanfare for the Common Man", and then tell me trombones can't puff their cheeks.

[@soupdrinker]

lilkorea27 you're kinda ignorant

[@henryprice7817]

It's a bass trombone

[@matthewamori7801]

Jacob Taylor It’s technically bad technique for brass players to puff their cheeks, but he still sounds good, so it’s kinda whatever 🤷‍♂️

[@brianjungen4059]

No you aren't smarter. What's bad form is high school students thinking they can critique music majors at a school like Michigan. Also, if you were a really good player, you would know sometimes things like that just happen...I've heard Wynton Marsalis crack a note at a live concert, but I wouldn't think of getting on KZbin and critiquing him......